Man in Custody for Alleged DHS Slaying, Second Man Charged as Accessory

News Staff

January 11, 2019 1:22 PMJanuary 11, 2019 1:22 PM

A man accused of fatally shooting someone at the site of an illegal gambling operation in Desert Hot Springs was in custody Friday, while a second man awaiting trial for allegedly shooting at a Desert Hot Springs police officer was charged with being an accessory to the killing.

James Angle, 43, is accused in the Dec. 11, 2018, shooting of an unidentified man in the 66500 block of Pierson Boulevard. The victim was hospitalized with what were initially believed to be non-life threatening injuries, but he died on Dec. 14, police said.

Angle was arrested Thursday afternoon on Bob Hope Drive in Rancho Mirage, according to county jail records.

He was charged that same day with murder and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, while a second man, Raymond Villegas Jr., 26, was charged with being an accessory after the fact and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. The men tentatively are expected to appear in court Monday afternoon.

Details on the connection between the men were unavailable.

Villegas has been in custody since Dec. 22, 2018, for allegedly firing at least one gunshot at a Desert Hot Springs officer who spotted Villegas in a vehicle “thought to be involved in a homicide,” Sgt. Phil Weigle said.

The shooting triggered a pursuit that ended with Villegas crashing his vehicle in the desert south of Two Bunch Palms Trail and West Drive, then eluding capture on foot, according to the sergeant.

Villegas was captured the following day elsewhere in the city, and subsequently was charged with attempted murder on a peace officer, evading arrest and weapons possession charges.